Our Work in Eastern Europe and Eurasia Region
Regional Family Planning Activity (RFPA)
The Eastern Europe & Eurasia (E&E) region presents a combination of market opportunities and consumer trends that have great potential for rapid expansion of private sector involvement in reproductive health and family planning (RH/FP). Product suppliers, private sector service providers, and nongovernmental organizations can help meet the public’s demand for services and products in RH/FP. Yet, in many transitional economies such as those in the E&E region, the private sector is not fully involved in meeting these health needs. Reasons range from restrictive legal and policy environments that impede expansion of private health services, to low public and private investment in growing the contraceptive market.
The RFPA is a new USAID’s E&E Bureau initiative designed to leverage best practices in family planning to ultimately increase modern contraceptive use and decrease abortion rates in the region. The activity is implemented by the Abt Associates led-PSP-One project and John Snow Inc. (JSI). The purpose of the PSP-One work is to enhance through technical assistance the capacity of USAID E&E bilateral RH/FP programs to promote private sector provision of RH/FP services and products.
To date, PSP-One project conducted a desk review evaluating the potential of current private sector role in FP market in E&E region. The report entitled Maximizing Private Sector Contributions to Family Planning in the Europe & Eurasia Region was shared with USAID missions throughout the region in an effort to increase awareness of private sector strategies that may complement public efforts in FP.
In 2008, the PSP-One project will co-author a brief with JSI, documenting the “10 best public/private sector practices” for FP in the region. PSP-One and JSI also plan to conduct regional conferences focusing on contraceptive technology to improve evidence-based FP practices in the region. The conferences will also be used as a venue to bring FP “champions" together and advocate the benefits of private sector engagement in RH/FP.
